


Haze

by Weve



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25821724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weve/pseuds/Weve
Summary: The pain of growing up. The horror of growing up. The simple growing pains of aging a year after another. Perhaps when we look back through the haze of memories, we'll be able to recall the moments that made us laugh. Perhaps we'll be able to recall the summers in childhood where nothing mattered but catching fireflies at night or whose house to sleepover. Perhaps we'll be able to recall the sweet calls of springs which brought the sweet scent of cherry blossoms and the stinging sneezes brought forth from pollen. Perhaps we'll be able to recall the warm fireplace of fall which brought forth laughter. Perhaps we'll be able to recall the chilling frosts of winter which bit at our toes while we were sledding in the hills. Perhaps...... we'll be able to look back through the haze and smile fondly at the passing memories.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Reader, Akashi Seijuurou/Reader, Iwaizumi Hajime/Reader, Kageyama Tobio/Reader, Oikawa Tooru/Reader, Tsukishima Kei/Reader, Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. The cooling summer

**Author's Note:**

> I feel awkward putting F/N in so I named the character.

Five. An age where the curious minds of children start to take off. Why is the sky blue? Why do the metal bars in the playground bore a reddish tint? Why do the cicadas that chirp in the summer go silent in the winter? And most importantly, why does mom insist on washing Mr. Yolk the sleepy egg in the washing machine every month? 

I huff in frustration. Mr. Yolk wasn’t dirty, he just…… had his fair amount of adventures with me. Swinging my feet off the stairs of the porch I pout as I realize my feet aren’t even long enough to touch the step down with my heels flat. The sun shone on the backside of the house as it advanced towards nightfall, casting a big shadow over the front lawn. The cicadas chirp wildly in the background as the leaves in the trees are blown ever so gently by the passing winds. The sleeves of my white puff-sleeved dress also billowing gently as the wind picks up slightly. 

“Mitochi! Come help your brother unpack!” my mother’s voice rings out from the intercom outside. 

“Yes, mooooom!” I yell back with no response back. How rude. Frowning in frustration I catch the sight of two boys about my height running down the street playing a rather high-intensity game of tag. I stare in curiosity for a while before the fluffy-haired one turned to look at me. They both had brown hair, although with differing shades of brown and the spiky-haired one seemed to have a slightly bigger build than the other one. The fluffy-haired one is donning a plain white t-shirt with a huge neon green alien on pairing it with some plain light brown trousers. How ugly I thought. I grimaced from the thought. The spiky-haired one is wearing a plain grey t-shirt with dark brown trousers. Eh, better. 

The fluffy-haired boy stopped running and stared owlishly at me while his friend (assumed) ran full speed at him. I try to yell out before he gets hit, but to no avail, fluffy-hair goes down like a pile of sticks. Which to be fair, based on his build, he probably would weigh the same. Fluffy-hair boy without raising his head from the ground points a shaking finger at me and says something to spiky-hair. Although I am too far away to hear what he said, I can assume that it was not very nice because spiky hair then sat on his friend and started wrestling with fluffy hair. I wince and deemed the situation a bit too rough. Making a quick escape, I dust my dress off because my mother would be mad if she saw dirt stains on my dress from the dusty steps. All this moving made the entrance super dirty and if she knew I sat on the steps, she’d probably make me stand in the corner with my hands raised. Twirling around and walking towards the front door, I promptly open the slightly ajar door and then step inside the house. Closing the door behind me and locking it (mom told me to always lock the front door). I gaze out the front window for spiky and fluffy-hair. Fluffy-hair looks like he’s complaining to spiky-hair as he’s rubbing his leg in pain while spiky-hair has an irk mark on his forehead. I giggle and spin around to the kitchen.

I am greeted by the sight of my brother Jong hauling a medium-sized box onto the kitchen table which I assume to be a box of silverware because of the drawings on the side of the white box. My brother was 5 years older than me and was quite a bit taller than me. He was the coolest person in the universe to me, even Mr. Yolk cannot beat him in coolness. He was already ten years old, yet he played four sports: baseball, volleyball, basketball, and tennis. Jong had hair as black as the night with hazelnut colored eyes that were slightly covered by his bangs that signaled he needed a haircut. He was wearing a yellow shirt with a turtle with light green shorts. My eyes shone as he heaved the box onto the table. He caught sight of me and smiled as bright as the sun.

“There’s my favorite sister!” He exclaimed as he picked me up and twirled me around once.

I giggled and stared back at him with my darker brown eyes. He patted my head twice and satisfied he had done a good job being a good brother headed to move presumably more boxes. 

Mom was standing with her back facing me and was reaching to place a porcelain plate onto a higher shelf. I stand there checking my dress for any stain marks on my dress before she turns around and finds any. Looking up, I realize that she had also turned at the same time as I looked up and scanned my dress for any stain marks. After a few seconds, she deemed that my dress was satisfactorily clean and while beginning to place the next bowl onto the next shelf, she says, “go move the smaller boxes and help your brother.”

Frowning I trudge in the direction my brother walked off in, in hopes of finding where the boxes were.

******************************************************************************

Our new house was enormous. In comparison to the old house in America, the new one in Japan was like a mouse to an elephant. When I had asked why we had moved during dinnertime a week ago, the only response I had gotten was something about a raise. The only problem is I had no idea what a raise was. I knew what a rake was though, they were pointy things for leaves apparently that mother would not let me use because it was dangerous. I don’t get mothers point of view, I am FIVE years old. I am not a baby and can do things by myself. I could even brush my hair now and can dress myself too. I even know the entire alphabet in English so take that mom. Although I knew how to speak three languages: Chinese, English, and Japanese, I was not very good at Japanese and often stumbled over my choppy words. Chinese was a bit better but I still had to concentrate on my words so my relatives wouldn’t laugh at me. While English was a breeze in the park and I could talk relatively relaxed. Thanks to all the private tutors that were hired, both my brother and I had knowledge of these three languages.  
Mom had even instituted a new rule of only Japanese in the house for the time being because she said that our level was unacceptable. I wonder what the word unacceptable means, maybe something to do with turtles. Turtles are cool, they have shells as homes. Whatever, I think I have good skills in languages and that’s all that matters. Even though Jong is more proficient in English than me, I’ll overtake him someday even if he’s the coolest in the house. If I conquer the English language, maybe I’ll be cool too? I don’t know, I just want to be like him.

After moving all the small boxes, my mother told me to check my room upstairs to see if I like it or not. Trodding up the stairway that stretched the distance of the “reception” room, I take slow steps as I did not want to fall off and bash my head. One time I fell from the stairs in my old house and ended up bawling like a little baby. I’m no baby now but I still remember how my head hurt and how my back bruised. I wince as I almost lose my balance but I quickly grab the railings and trod upstairs. Reaching the top floor I swing my head left and right confused on where my room was as this house was BIG, but my nanny elegantly walking down the hallway caught sight of me and beckoned me over.

Mom told me that my nanny has always been with me but I can’t remember. All I know is that she’s also the epitome of cool and unlike mom taking Mr. Yolk to the washing machine, nanny plays with Mr. Yolk too. Mr. Yolk also likes nanny more than mom as mom takes him to the washing machines of no fun. Nanny’s hair is a dark grey that is always wrapped into a low bun with a gray uniform with white lines bordering it. She’s always wearing a gentle smile and has the aura of a warm crackling fireplace. Mom says Nanny’s name is Hua but I think Nanny is cooler.

“Nanny!” I squeal as I run towards her. She chuckles as she hugs me as she bends down to my level. I snuggle into her arms before she lifts me up into the air. I wrap my legs around her torso and her arms come to support my legs. She walks down a long hallway with doors scattered down the hallway was a double door at the end of the hallway. She pushes the door and a large room comes to view. 

A light lavender double bed sits at one end of the room with a desk occupying the other corner. There were two levels to this room with the second level being slightly lower than the entrance. There were three steps from the lower part of the room to the entrance which shouldn’t be too hard to ascend. There was a bookcase to the right of me and a play area to my upper right. Play area. Wait. Is this my room?

“Nanny, is this my room?” I curiously state while surveying the room.

“Of course,” Nanny grins and continues to talk, “I don’t think Jong would appreciate a lavender bed for his bed”. 

I grunt in reply and blink at the mini chandelier the room has to offer. The chandelier was made up of tiny circles that dangle down surrounding the light source which cast a beautiful light glow around the room. Fascinated I stare at it for a few more seconds before I cast my gaze down because the light was a bit too bright.

Later that night I realize that my mother did not answer back because she talked to me through the intercom while I was outside. Mom had said to answer back I had to press a white button and put my mouth real close to this dotted white panel to reply. I’ll keep that in mind for the next time. My eyes closing in exhaustion, I realize that I haven’t seen papa today. He must’ve had a lot of work today. That night I dream of neon aliens and spiky porcupines.

****************************************************************************

The next day, mom decided that I needed more sunlight and sent me outside to play. In the hot summer, I started sweating in a record amount of time, and instead of playing hopscotch as I used to in America, I sit down behind a tree to hide from the hot sun. Jong had been lucky and been hauled away by papa to play indoor badminton to further his field of sports. I had begged this morning to go with them but papa had only laughed and said maybe next time. I huffed in frustration, I wanted to play sports too. I learn just as fast as Jong and could do underhand receives in volleyball. Papa had said that I had no control, but I say that I hit the ball and that it went up…. most of the time. Sometimes it went sideways but I don’t wanna think about the time I hit Jong in the face.

Hearing voices echo down the street, I pick my head up and narrow my eyes suspiciously at the streets through the gate in front of me. To my surprise, spiky-hair and fluffy-hair are back again. Although they still wore similar t-shirts, they switched to light blue and light orange shorts respectably. 

I smile amused as I realize that they are bickering again. 

“Aliens are real!” fluffy-hair exclaims as he rants in frustration while spiky-hair just faces the street as they trod on.

“Shut up Trashykawa!” spiky-hair growls as he knife chops his companion in the side causing fluffy-hair to double over and make direct eye contact with me.

My eyes widen and before I can hide fluffy-hair exclaims “Girl!”.

Spiky-hair whips his head around and follows his friends gaze to also stare directly at me. 

Now, I am usually a calm five-year-old who is as cool and collected as turtles. But when two new boys are staring at me (who are not bad looking) the only thing that I squeak out is,

“PORCUPINE AND FLUFFY!”

How embarrassing.


	2. Friendships and giggles

I blink.

They blink

For a moment, it was as if the world had stopped moving as they stared at me in shock while I was frozen in humiliation at the words I had just blurted out. I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but it seemed like crickets were blaring slightly in the background. 

Then fluffy-hair’s lips twitched and spiky-hair let out a noise that sounded like a dying goose. In two seconds flat, chaos ensued. Fluffy-hair burst out laughing while spiky-hair guffawed so loudly that he had to bend over. 

“SHE CALLED YOU A PORCUPINE IWA-CHAN” fluffy-hair wheezed as he fought for breath while laughing too hard, “I TOLD YOU THAT HAIRCUT MADE YOU LOOK LIKE A HUMAN PORCUPINE!”.

“SHUT UP TRASHYKAWA!” the boy called Iwa-chan roared while a deep blush took its place spreading across his face, “AT LEAST I DON’T HAVE THE PERSONALITY OF A TRASH CAN!”.

_ Eh? They’re not mad?  _ A deep blush had formed in my cheeks, so hot that I could feel it without looking in a mirror. Before, I had been horrified to blurt out my thoughts so bluntly, but now I was just plain confused. Mom had said to keep rude thoughts to myself and to always be polite, and what I had said was probably not polite. 

I sat there watching them bicker while laughing so hard that tears were visible at the corners of the eyes which was a rather comical sight. I could feel my lips twitching. Then spiky-hair slapped the back of fluffy-hair’s head which made him bow over with a huge bam. Fluffy-hair started rubbing the back of his head while whining loudly which made my twitching to become a smile instead. The next thing I know a grasshopper landed on fluffy-hair’s hands.

The most  **high pitched** scream I have ever heard exited the mouth of fluffy-hair. 

I couldn’t help it anymore, I laughed with my mouth so wide that mother would’ve scolded me for hours on end. I chuckled so loudly that my chest heaved with the effort to keep up. My body shook with every laugh that exited out of my mouth. My arms held my stomach in an attempt to stabilize myself, but with no avail, I kept on giggling.

Both fluffy-hair and spiky-hair stared in shock yet again at me. Which I assume was because I was laughing so loudly people down the road could even hear inside their houses.

Then the grasshopper hopped near fluffy-hair again and he started yelling again.

The next ten minutes were spent laughing myself to tears while fluffy-hair tries to escape the grasshopper with spiky-hair grinned evilly while glancing at me every once in a while.

*****************************************************************************

Once fluffy-hair had calmed down and I had caught my breath, spiky-hair spoke up.

“What’s your name?”, he grunted. The blush had long been erased and had been replaced by a stoic expression.

“Trying to pick up girls now, huh Iwa-chan?”, fluffy-hair squealed as he winked at what was presumably the boy named Iwa-chan. _ What a peculiar name Iwa-chan. _ I frowned while contemplating.

“Shut up you idio-”

“Mitochi, Zi Mitochi.”, I managed to sputter out at the two boys who froze at my words mid-wrestling.

“Mi-Channnnn!” fluffy-hair gasped, “Such a cute name!”.

“No, not really”, I tilted my head to the side as I thought about his words. Since my parents were of Chinese descent, they had decided to name me with Chinese characters instead of an American name. My name was cool. It was different from all the other kids at my kindergarten and even though the other kids had laughed at me, I didn’t care.

“My name is not cute, it's cool.”, I spoke cleanly while maintaining eye contact with fluffy-hair. My name in Chinese meant support and mom had said that I would grow up to form a strong foundation and to help those around me.

Fluffy-hair froze and his eyes widened slowly probably in shock that I had not just agreed to his words. Spiky-hair cracked a smile and grinned at me in a boyish manner which I smiled back at.

“Yea, it sounds cool”, spiky-hair muttered, “My name is Iwaizumi Hajime, nice to meet you”.

Fluffy-hair unfroze and leaned towards me.

“And I’m Oikawa Tooru, pleased to be your acquaintance.”

I wrinkled my nose at his last words. What the heck does acquaintance mean?

After explaining the word acquaintance to me, Iwaizumi had smacked Oikawa for teasing me about not knowing the word. And that is also how I came to know that they were two years older than me. Both of them widened their eyes in shock as they said I did not look two years younger than them. Mother had said I was tall for my age which was probably why. Oikawa had whined about my height being too close to theirs while I was younger than them to which I smirked at. Oikawa had also come to the habit of calling me Mi-chan which made me narrow my eyes at him every time. Iwaizumi had taken the traditional route of calling me Zi-san which mother had explained that it was common courtesy to call people you meet by their last name unless they tell you to refer to them otherwise. I lived in America where people do not call each other by their last names, but I was strangely more comfortable with Zi-san than Mi-chan.

We chatted about ourselves to each other through the gate before I realized that the boys who were not shaded by the giant tree had started sweating a lot. 

“Um, do you guys want to come inside?”

*****************************************************************************

“Zi-San”

I hum in reply.

“Your house is huge”

I hum again.

“Are you rich?”, Oikawa sputters as nanny leads us into the kitchen to have a snack with refreshing drinks. I’m holding nanny’s hand as I turn my head to look at him. 

“I don’t know.”, I tilt my head as I speak. Mom had said that we were fortunate enough to be comfortable. But is being comfortable rich? I frowned.  _ I should ask. _

“My mom said we were comfortable, is comfortable rich?” I ask the boys. 

Iwaizumi narrows his eyes in thought while Oikawa frowns. None of them seem to have an answer to that question and I turn my head forward. All of us in deep thought about that question while nanny led us into the kitchen. 

We finally came into the kitchen. All of the moving boxes are nowhere to be seen and the kitchen looks clean and sparkly. Nanny lets go of my hand to start making drinks while I clamber to sit at the marble counter tables. The chairs are very high so I always struggle to get on. Oikawa uses both hands to tumble himself onto the seat, nearly falling off in the attempt. Iwaizumi grunts in an effort to pull himself up, but achieves sitting in the chair far cleaner than Oikawa. Even though I was slightly shorter than them, I had managed to get on the seat quicker, snickering at Oikawa’s attempt. 

We quickly busied ourselves with conversations about bugs and Godzilla which Iwaizumi was a fan of. I was pleased to find out that Iwaizumi knew about this monster and chatted excitedly with him while Oikawa pouted to the side, probably sad about not being included. However, Iwaizumi and I pointedly ignored his whining while exchanging our favorite moments of the movie with each other. Nanny brought over some type of drink which I assumed was part lemonade. It had bubbles and a light yellow color with a slice of lemon on the side of the tall glass. Mother had said that it was rude to take something without saying thank you, so I mumbled a thank you before trying the drink. The boys echoed after me before sipping it themselves. A sweet but light flavor seeped into my mouth in delight. But the most wonderful part of the drink was that it was cold and we had just come from the hot burning sun. Sighing in relief, I cast my gaze to Oikawa who was drinking it like it was his lifeline. Iwaizumi was drinking at a slower pace but his eyes were widened slightly to show that he was surprised at the taste. Oikawa finished his glass in no time and in an action that even I found myself melting with, blinked his eyes and while tilting his head, chirped in the politest voice,

“Another one please!”

Iwaizumi managed to stop drinking when the glass was half empty while mine had three-fourths of the drink left. Oikawa managed to obtain another glass and was now satisfied with a soft smile adorning his face. Relaxed, I slipped into an easy conversation with the boys about their lives. I found out that they lived near me in Sendai and attended Kitagawa Daiichi Primary school near our houses. I widened my eyes at that fact and excitedly told them that I was supposed to go there too. Oikawa had given me a high five at that fact and happily talked about the teachers and classes they had.

The high afternoon sun had slipped into a beautiful sunset that strewn the kitchen with a soft glow from the setting sun. The afternoon had been filled with laughter and conversations full of glee. At one point when I had mentioned volleyball, both of their eyes glowed with excitement. Oikawa had chattered on and on about volleyball and his greatest idol named Jose Blanco. While talking about him, Oikawa’s eyes shone in fascination and he probably talked about an hour straight just on that topic. It was hard not to realize their love for the sport, going as far as to suggest that I sign up for Lil Tykes volleyball classroom along with them.

After Oikawa had calmed down, he glanced at the clock displayed on the kitchen walls. Following his eyes, I realize that it was now half-past seven.

“Oi, idiot we should go home.” Iwaizumi grumbled at Oikawa.

Oikawa pouted, “but I like staying here with Mi-chan!”, he whined.

“We can always come to visit again if you don’t mind Zi-san.”, Iwaizumi turns to speak to me while I jump off the chair. 

Biting my lip, I shake my head up and down eagerly which earns me a thumbs up from Iwaizumi and a grin from Oikawa. They follow me to the reception room to put on their shoes to go home. When they were in the middle of transferring from slippers to their shoes, a voice sounded from the top of the stairs.

“Mitochi, are these your friends?”

I look up to see my mother descending the stairs while smiling at me. 

“Mom, I made friends. Although one of them is a little weird and calls me Mi-chan”, I snicker as Oikawa proceeds to stick his tongue out at me.

Mother laughs and reaches the bottom of the stairs to greet my newfound friends of the day. Oikawa and Iwaizumi bow in greetings and introduce themselves to my mother.  _ Humph, they weren’t that polite when they introduced themselves to me. What is this unfairness? Is this the world punishing me for not tucking in Mr. Yolk? I swear it was an accident.  _ I frown as my mom greets them back and invites them over again soon. They soon depart from the front door and Iwaizumi spares me a wave as Oikawa uses both hands to wave wildly at me while yelling my name and some other garbled message. I giggle and use one hand to wave back.

“They’re quite nice boys aren’t they?”, mother proceeds to ask after they disappeared from view.

I nod while yawning.

“You must be tired from all the talking”, she said quietly.

I nod. 

“And from all of your daily set of addition problems.”

I nod. 

_ Wait _ .

_ Addition problems? _

_ Right. _

_ Those WERE a thing. _

I gulped, meeting my mother's gaze. It seemed like an invisible dark flame had risen from behind her and tiny flames were in her eyes. I could almost feel the heat radiating from her. Usually, mother is a very elegant person with the temperament of a nice gentle breeze. However, when she gets mad, she gets MAD.

That night in bed, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t miss another set of addition problems. Mother had lectured me for a short time, but the sight of her earlier was scary enough for me to not want to forget again. Shivering, I turn on my side while hugging Mr. Yolk. His cartoonish face seemed to smile at me lazily. I hug Mr. Yolk even harder and slip into deep thought.

Back in America, kids were wary of me. They said I was too different and weird. But, I don’t understand how eating dumplings is weird, or how my fried rice at lunch is smelly. I don’t understand how my red dress adorned with gold for Chinese new year was tacky. To me, it was the most beautiful dress that I have ever worn. I don’t understand how Chinese sounded weird, it had the sound of the flowing river, choppy at times but smooth and flowing. I thought that moving here, I would be outcasted again. Alone. Always Alone. But somehow after meeting Oikawa and Iwaizumi,

I think I’ll be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have read over this too many times. I give up.


	3. Life as I know it

Over the next few weeks, Iwaizumi and Oikawa never failed to show up at my front door. We spent these weeks playing under the hot sun and exploring the forest near the park near my house. The forest became our place. Whenever one of us got bored, we would suggest going into the forest and playing tag. We wove through the trees with giggles spilling through our mouths, legs pumping to put distance from the chaser and the hunted. It became a normal routine. Oikawa and Iwaizumi would show up at my house in the late morning, and I would play with them until the evening. Sometimes we would spend all day playing in the park and forest and sometimes they would invite me to their house to play too. 

Oikawa’s house was tan with a simple design. Although his house was smaller than mine, it offered a cozy feeling and his mom always made the best snacks. Milk bread seemed to be Oikawa’s favorite and every time his mom made it, he would devour at least two while chugging down a drink to go with the bread. Iwaizumi would always smack Oikawa, telling him to slow down. Oikawa would always choke anyways, making the ugliest faces I had ever seen to date. His house always made me feel like a second home. Oikawa’s mom was the nicest person I have ever met. One time when Oikawa accidentally tripped me down the stairs, his mom soothed me for an hour and offered me a pudding cup. Mom always said that I couldn’t eat these things because they contained sugar. Thus, I was never allowed to eat anything containing too much sugar including donuts. She always allowed Jong to eat whatever he wanted though. Maybe it’s because I’m not old enough, who knows.

Oikawa’s dad worked as a doctor. Mom had told me that doctors were respectable people which I agree with. They help people who are not as healthy as others, so I think that they’re really cool. I mean how many people can heal a person with a wound safely? I think that they secretly use magic and just refuse to tell the public about it. In short, Oikawa’s dad is so cool. When Oikawa had mentioned that, he lit up instantly. I could tell that he really adored his dad. Oikawa even puffed out his chest and stated that his dad would take him to the park to play volleyball with him on his off days. That statement hurt a little bit because dad would never take me to play sports, he would just always take Jong. Maybe if I grow a little more. Maybe.

Iwaizumi’s house looked so elegant from the outside, but his house was slightly messy. His room was the messiest room I had ever seen. Iwaizumi had blushed and stuttered about how cleaning day was tomorrow and that was why it was so messy. There were clothes strewn throughout the room and papers scattered on his desk. There was even a piece of his homework sticking out of his brown dresser. I don’t know if I believe that he has a “cleaning day”, but his bed was the comfiest out of all of us and that was more than enough to make up for the mess. Iwaizumi’s mom was similar to Iwaizumi in that she wouldn’t talk as much, but made up for it in her actions. While Oikawa’s mom was the best snack maker, Iwaizumi’s mom was the best at cooking. Her curry was the best thing I have ever tasted, even better than nanny’s version. It had the perfect blend of spice and sauce to ingredient ratio. Iwaizumi’s dad was huge, and I mean huge. I guess it’s because they even had a gym room in their house. Iwaizumi loved that room and would always try to work out on the equipment. His dad would always chuckle at his efforts and help his son out. One time Oikawa tried to lift one of the equipment and promptly failed. Iwaizumi then lifted it up with ease, embarrassing Oikawa to the ends of the earth. I had beamed at Iwaizumi, proud of him before Oikawa had glomped over me, needing comfort from his recent effort. Mother had said to always comfort friends in need but that day I felt slightly more naughty. I had smirked at him and teased him about his lack of muscle. Strangely enough, Oikawa hadn’t whined about how mean I was like he usually would. He just stared at me with a strange glint in his eyes and silently sat there for a while. Iwaizumi and I just stared at each other in confusion. However, it wasn’t long before Oikawa made a comment about Iwaizumi and they started wrestling again.

Iwaizumi’s dad worked as a police officer and that’s why he had to keep up his physique. He was a warm person full of humor and dad jokes that he would love to crack whenever he could. I found them insanely funny just like Oikawa, but Iwaizumi would turn red every time in embarrassment. Iwaizumi said when he grew up, he wanted to be like his dad: warm, reliable, funny. 

Although Iwaizumi’s dad and Oikawa’s dad were cool, I thought my dad was the coolest. He wasn’t a worker under anyone, he was the top of the company. Apparently the company makes video games and mother said that they would start investing in properties soon. I have no idea what that means but when I asked, mother said that it would make more profit. Someday I wish to be just like him. I just wish that he would spend more time with me, just like he does with Jong.

***********************************************************************

My eyes flew open as my alarm that day rang at 6:30 am. Groaning, I rub my eyes in denial of the bright sunlight flowing into my room, the floor to floor windows allowing light to shine in at maximum capacity. 

“Why is it so bright,” I grumble as I swing my legs off the bed. I tug Mr. Yolk with me to the bathroom connected to my room and swing the door open. On my tiptoes, I switch the light source on and place Mr. Yolk on the countertop. The sudden brightness makes me wince, but my eyes were still half-closed from sleep. I grab the stool and put it in front of the counter with the sink. Clambering up, I grip the counter to make sure that I don’t lose my balance while moving. 

What is this monster I see in the mirror?

Oh wait.

It’s me.

My hair resembled a rat’s nest with some strands sticking out and most of my hair sticking together in a clump. I grab my hairbrush and for the next ten minutes, I attempt to soothe out the knots. Mother said that a girl should always look presentable, however, a five-year-old can only do so much. I wash my face, wetting some of the strands in the process, and apply chapstick to my dry lips. I held a staring competition with Mr. Yolk while I brush my teeth. He won again which makes the wins 7 to 0. Putting my toothbrush back and rinsing my mouth, I look myself in the mirror again and shrug, nanny will help later.

I yawn, putting the stool away in its corner after stepping off. Mr. Yolk seemed to stare at me lazily with a look that said “You look terrible”. 

“I know, I know” I grumble while hoisting Mr. yolk into my arms and walking out of the bathroom into my room. Mother had said that I should always make my bed because I need to learn responsibility. I finish smoothing out my lavender blanket over my bed and readjusting the pillows on the headboard. Those pillows were perfectly fluffy but not as fluffy as Iwaizumi’s bed. One time I had fallen asleep in my bed and it was so comfortable. Oikawa had to shake me for a minute to wake me up for deep sleep. I had apologized to Iwaizumi for sleeping on his bed but he had just grumbled it was fine while sporting a light blush. Smiling at the memory, I finish making my bed and open the door to my hallway. Nanny was just making her way down the hallway when I opened it. 

“Good morning nanny.” I greet her while squinting my eyes at her, the light proving to be still too bright.

“Mitochi,” she chuckled, “Do you need some help with your hair? Today’s a special day after all”.

I raise my eyebrows at her words. Special day? What special day. Oh wait.

First day of school.

I groaned.

A week ago, when I had turned 6, Oikawa and Iwaizumi seemed excited that I would be going to the same school as them. That day had been spent with plenty of cake and drinks. The rest of my family met my friends and Oikawa seemed to be a natural charmer. Iwaizumi had been a bit shy at first, but as soon as Jong brought up sports, he was too excited to be shy. Jong had bonded with the two of them in a mere hour to my annoyance and proceeded to call them his friends. Oikawa and Iwaizumi regarded Jong as cool because he was older than them and was more “advanced” than them. I had pouted and went into a moody state that mother scolded me for. She said that I should never show too many bad emotions in front of guests and I should remain composed. That just made my urge to cry increase and she almost made me go to timeout on my birthday. Luckily, Iwaizumi had hugged me and whispered that I would always be their friend first. That made me smile as huge as I could and embrace him back. I spent the next hour resting in his embrace before Oikawa's whining got too annoying and I also gave him a hug. Oikawa would pout and ignore me forever if I told them this but Iwaizumi's hug was the warmest I have ever felt.

That day mother had allowed them to come over for a sleepover and even met their parents as well. I could tell that mother liked their parents because she chatted and drank alcohol with them for a long time. That night, I went to sleep in the multipurpose room entangled in Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s arms. Jong had teased me about that when I woke up, so I chucked the pillow at him as hard as I could. Iwaizumi had just laughed as I attempted to hit my brother while Oikawa was still asleep. After they left, the only thing that was left on my mind was that dad had never come home that day. I get that he’s busy, but I just wished he would spare a little more time for me.

Snapping back into the present, I realized that during the time I was deep in thought, nanny had brought me to the bathroom and started combing my hair. When mom combs my hair, she does it so roughly that it hurts. That’s why I prefer nanny to comb my hair because she tries to do it in a way that doesn’t hurt. Also, nanny also does the cutest hairstyles that I won’t ever admit I like because I’m a cool person, not a cute person.

I’ve seen the uniform for the school before and it was pretty cool. The girl’s uniform was a sailor-style uniform made up of dark blue sailor-style top with white buttons and linings. The pants were a light brown trouser style and we had to wear some sort of navy blue or white sneakers. Mother had said that white sneakers would look better, so she chose white sneakers. She also said that if I got the shoes too dirty, I would be sent to timeout so I better watch out for that. There was also a white hat that came with the uniform with navy lining.

Nanny finished tying my hair into pigtails and secured them with navy blue hair ties with white crescent moons. She nodded to me before leaving the room. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was even impressed with how I looked. I dress myself with ease before smoothing out my shirt and checking one last time in the mirror. I blanch. I wore the shirt backwards. After flipping the shirt around, I promptly head downstairs to the dining room. 

Heading down the stairs, I noticed that the time was around 7 am because the clock let out a noise that happened every hour. Mom had said that school started at 7:50 and I should get there twenty minutes before to make sure I have enough time to get my schedule and settle down. That leaves me with twenty minutes with breakfast because it takes ten minutes to walk there. I reach the end of the stairs and turn into the hallway leading into the dining room. 

Dad and mom are sitting in the living room while Jong is nowhere to be seen. There are four plates out on the dining table full of eggs and toast. A glass of tea accompanies dad and mom’s table while there is a glass of orange juice next to Jong and mine. 

“Good morning”, I say clearly while I stare at my plate of eggs and toast, hungry from the ten hours of sleep that I had gotten. 

“Good morning” my mom chimes back.

The next few minutes are spent quietly with the noises of chewing and drinking. I chomp down on my eggs and reach for the toast to slather jam onto. 

“Mitochi, mind your table manners. Eat slowly and quietly. Do not chew with your mouth open.” my mom reminds me before reaching for orange jam herself.

I grumble as a response before slowing down and grabbing peach jam to slather onto my piece of toast. I make sure to reach the ends of the toast and then put the knife back onto the napkin. The toast tastes surprisingly amazing because of the slight sweetness of the jam and the crunch of the toast. The jam even included little pieces of peach that were intact that gave the jam a new level of texture.

Suddenly, Jong burst into the room in a hurry.

“Good morning Jong” my father greets before biting down on his eggs. Jong shouts a greeting in reply before grabbing a fork from his napkin and stuffing himself with a mouthful of eggs. He opts for raspberry jam and slathers it onto his toast messily before scarfing it down. Mother chuckles quietly before returning to her piece of toast.

Quietly I chew. 

I realize that dad didn’t greet me like he greeted Jong.

*****************************************************************************

Closing the door behind me, I glance at the sun. It’s a beautiful sight, with the tall trees lining my driveway swaying in the wind. The breeze blows slightly, ruffling my uniform and scattering a few sparse leaves on the ground. My backpack was a plain navy that had a black buckle in the back. I had a white water bottle that was mostly plastic except the top and bottom that was hooked onto the bottom of my backpack.

I took a deep breath. 

I walk down the front steps of my house before catching sight of two figures leaning at my gate. My eyes widen.

“Yo, Mi-chaan” Oikawa yells while waving at me.

“Hurry up Mitochi” Iwaizumi shouts. Iwaizumi had transitioned to calling me by my first name after I had told him that I was fine with him calling me by my first name. The first few times he had tried, he had stuttered over my name but by the third time, he had gotten over it and was able to say it smoothly. In return, he said that I could use his first name as well, so I called him Hajime now. Oikawa had pouted and sat in the corner with a gloomy mood before I started to call him Tooru too. In short, we were all on first-name basis now.

I smile brightly, running towards the two boys. Now, the driveway was long. It took around fifteen seconds to drive down in the car at a low speed. With my little six-year-old legs it took me around a minute to cross. By the time I got to them, I was slightly panting but still managed to maintain my smile. Iwaizumi ruffled my hair which earned a yelp from me and a chuckle from Oikawa.

“Stop messing up my hair! Nanny did this hairstyle for me and I need to look presentable for school. If you mess it up too bad, I’ll pummel you into the ground!” I growl as I try to readjust my hair slightly.

Iwaizumi just smirks at me. He leans down at me slightly.

“Go ahead and try idiot” 

This.

Cheeky.

Porcupine.

With a battle cry, I try to swipe at him. He leaps back, laughing in glee before running off. I growl and chase after him. Oikawa yelps about something like leaving him behind and I hear feet behind me, probably running after me. 

I grin as I chase Iwaizumi. 

Maybe school will be fun with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Yolk is a huge mood.


	4. Normalcy

There are around twenty-five faces staring at me. Apparently the teacher needed to introduce me to the class since I came a term late. Besides me, the teacher is talking about my background and whatnot so I decide to focus on the classroom. A row of cubbies lines the back of the classroom, light blue in color. Most of the cubbies are filled except for the last two. The classroom itself is a plain white color with wooden desks in a neat pattern. Two desks are put side to side in six rows. There are big windows spanning the right side of the classroom from where I’m standing and white curtains are hanging above them, gently swaying from the breeze coming from the slightly opened windows. A plain wooden floor adorns the classroom that bores some scratch marks that must be from moving the desks around. There’s a girl with her hair in pigtails with strawberry hair ties, a boy with a square shape fac-

“Mitochi”

My attention snaps back towards the teacher who is looking at me expectantly. Some girls giggle as I realize that the teacher must’ve asked me something but I wasn’t paying attention. Oikawa always teased me about having the attention span of a goldfish. It seems that he’s right just the one time. Although he isn’t much better at concentrating except for volleyball.

“Sorry, I was looking around the classroom” 

I look up at my teacher's face and instead of the stern scolding face that I would get for not paying attention to my mother, the teacher is smiling instead. How weird.

“It’s alright, please take a seat next to Kageyama-kun, he’s the boy with an empty chair next to him” she cheerfully chirps.

I blink. In a millisecond I decide that I like the teacher, she’s nice. I stride down the row to stop by the chair that the teacher instructs me to sit in. There’s only one empty seat next to a boy so I assume it’s the seat that the teacher wants me to sit in. The left of the two desks is occupied by a boy with fluffy hair like Oikawa’s except his was a luscious brown and this boy had black hair. He had dark blue eyes and seemed to also like volleyball as he had a pen with a volleyball charm attached to it on his desk. He had a blue backpack hanging off of his desk and wore his uniform neatly. 

I sit down in the open seat and place my backpack on the dangling hook on the right of my desk. There are whispers from a couple of girls and a couple of kids are still staring at me, probably judging if I will fit in or not. Trying not to focus on others, I turn my attention to the dark-haired boy next to me. I prop my head on my arms and he seems to notice that I want to introduce myself because he stops looking at the teacher and turns to look at me quizzically.

I grin.

“Your hair looks fluffy”

“Yours too?” Kageyama states while tilting his head cutely. I find only a couple of things cute like Mr. Yolk or hamsters. Rarely are people cute enough that I will define them as cute, but Kageyama definitely fits in the box. His innocent and pure face and manners remind me of a baby bear. Sometimes I forget that I’m only six because I hang out with Oikawa and Iwaizumi so much. Oikawa once said that I don’t exactly look and act like a six-year-old which I can’t decide if that’s good or bad. That must be why I find Kageyama cute.

“My names Zi Mitochi” I chirp, “I look forward to being your deskmate for the school year. I came from America so my Japanese can be a bit rough, though I hope you don’t mind”.

He nods at my words then faces forward. I turn my head to the front to focus on the teacher talking after a few seconds. _How does he not introduce himself. How rude._ I pout, bringing my face to rest on my now folded arms. I was looking forward to talking to a nice seatmate for the rest of the school year and making new friends, but now it looks like that won’t happen. 

Then I hear it. A slight murmur that comes from my left, but it’s clear to my ears.

“Kageyama Tobio”

I let a smile grace my face.

I listen to the rest of the lessons with ease. I follow the textbooks and write what is needed down. I concentrate my hardest to understand the Japanese which has always been a huge weakness to me. Mother had been adamant to hire private tutors for me over the summer which have advanced my level, but sometimes I’ll slip on the pronunciation or say the wrong phrases to describe something. Thankfully the lessons aren’t too hard to follow around and by the time the bell rings after the fourth lesson, I allow myself to relax. I look around me and realize that it must be time for lunch as the teacher reels in a cart full of containers. All the children go to the cubbies to retrieve their aprons and hair coverings for lunch to which I assume I should do the same. However, I realize that my cubby is empty and instead go up to the teacher to ask her for mine. I ask her for my set and she gladly gives me my set before starting to set up the table for food. I come back to my desk and put the top loop of the apron around my neck, but struggle to tie the back.

“I’ll do it” a voice comes from my left which startles me to let out a small squeak. Kageyama tilts his head again in confusion cutely, to which I have to resist squealing and petting him like a small dog. I then realize that although we’re the same age, I am slightly taller than him. Finally, a friend that I am taller than. Oikawa and Iwaizumi were both taller than me and they were my only friends which meant that I always had to look up slightly. With an enthusiastic nod, I gladly accept his request to tie my apron and turn my back to him. I feel the strings of my apron being moved and wait until they stop moving to turn around to thank him.

I expected Kageyama to walk away as soon as he’s done, but strangely he’s still standing there with a weird look on his face. I narrow my eyes, I have no idea what he’s going to say.

“You're taller than me” he grumbles at last. I widened my eyes in surprise. Well well, let’s have some fun. 

I grin, scanning him with my eyes. I used to be this quiet, withdrawn kid that wouldn’t be so cheeky with other people, but Oikawa has really brought out the worst in me. I should really follow Iwaizumi’s example but being cheeky is just so fun. It’s not that Iwaizumi isn’t cheeky, but Oikawa is usually the one that is more less behaved even though he dresses his uniform like it’s supposed to be worn. Iwaizumi just straight up doesn’t care and probably throws it on every day.

I lean into Kageyama’s face until there’s only a few inches of space in between our faces. He makes this expression like a scared little hamster which is just adorable. I chuckle and then use my finger to flick his forehead, a move that I have learned from my dear porcupine friend who seems to have an obsession of doing that to me. Kageyama winces, and I giggle even more.

“Then grow even more dummy” I chortle, “Come on! Show me how lunch is done here”. I bring the lunch cap up onto my head and place it snugly on. He seems to have to process everything that just happened because he pauses for a while, blinking innocently before he nods at me.

I trail him like a puppy while he walks to the line formed by the rest of the kids. Kageyama explains that we have to take a metal tray and the teacher will serve us appropriate portions of every kind of food being served today. Then we sit down at our desks and eat. I only nod in confirmation that I heard him before hearing a clicking sound by the window. I turn my head and I see a blur of brown at the window in the door. Then I see Iwaizumi’s head pop out for a second before falling out of sight. I gape. What the heck are these two doing now? I see Oikawa’s head pop out for a second which he uses to blast finger guns at me while winking comically. Then Iwaizumi’s face comes into view and what I assume is Oikawa’s hand smacks him across the face.

The classroom is so quiet except for the teacher's quiet voice that is talking to the student currently being served, so i don’t want to cause a huge disturbance. But, that was just so funny that I can barely hold in my laughter and I have to use my hand to smother my laughter. Kageyama looks at me like I’m a psychopath which I’m sure I look like but at this point I don’t care. I hear a quiet argument from outside which I’m sure is Iwaizumi trying to hit Oikawa back and Oikawa dodging like a madman. The teacher finishes serving this pigtailed girl before opening the classroom door. Now the entire class can see Iwaizumi with Oikawa in a chokehold with both of them stuck in a surprised expression.

I couldn’t help it anymore, I laughed out loud with full heaving breaths. Oikawa looks straight up mortified while Iwaizumi looks angry. The teacher just stares down at them with a weird expression that I can’t pin. Oikawa lets out a little laugh before pulling on a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. I narrow my eyes at that because I haven’t seen him use that for many things.

“Sorry teacher-chan, I was just trying to see how my cute little Mi-chan was doing inside her new environment. And even though Iwa-chan is a huge brute, Mi-chan is also his friend so I also brought him along” He smiles attractively as he smoothly speaks. Iwaizumi growls at his insult but nods along to his statement. The teacher can’t bring herself to say no to the polite innocent face that Oikawa has on so she only nods before Iwaizumi drags Oikawa away. 

“Mi-chan! Eat well” is the last thing I hear before the teacher closes the door quietly. The teacher looks at me confused which I can only shrug from before she starts serving the next student. I wait quietly for my turn before heaving my tray now full of food back to my seat. I put my hands together and say “thank you for the food” before tucking in. After stuffing myself full of food I grew bored because everyone else was still eating. I noticed that people were talking to their deskmate so I turned my head to look at the black-haired boy next to me. He grunts in acknowledgment so I open my mouth to speak.

“Those were my childhood friend, I swear I’m not a psychopath” the words rush out before I can stop myself. I blink, surprised that I said that out loud. He pauses, spoon halfway to his mouth before he smiles and nods. Is there anything more cute than this little bear smiling. The answer is no. I squeal, bringing my hand to ruffle his hair. 

“You’re like a little bear, so cute!” I coo before retracting my hand and giggling. He grunts again in dislike and reaches up to reorganize his hair after bringing the delicious curry to his mouth. After he finishes chewing, he turns to me.

“I’m not cute, we’re the same age”

“Yea but I’m taller” I retorted, folding my arms over my chest and sticking my tongue out at him.

He pouts, turning back to his unfinished food and grumpily chewing. How cute, it’s gonna be a fun year having him a seatmate, I just know it. How can it not be a fun year with something as cute as Kageyama sitting next to me. For the rest of lunch I drift off in thought while Kageyama finishes his lunch with a disgruntled sigh.

*********************************************************************************************

Oikawa and Iwaizumi popped in at the end of the lunch to check on me. It was the first time that I saw so many girls enamored by Oikawa. Ten out of the twelve girls in my class crowded him as soon as he opened the door. It was also one of the few times that I saw a look of annoyance flash across his face, but I can see why he was annoyed. If I was bombarded with that many people at one time I would also be quite annoyed. Iwaizumi just made sure I ate my lunch well and that I was understanding everything that was going on. As soon as Oikawa had charmed the girls to sit in their seats, he had waltzed over to my desk and I immediately made ten enemies. The closest comparison that I can make of their glares to my timid self was, a bunch of panthers stalking a mouse. It was surprisingly frightening. I would never think that a bunch of six-year-old girls could scare me to the point like that, but I guess life has its surprises. Kageyama just watched the whole encounter silently next to me. 

I let out a sigh as the last bell had rung. There were fifteen-minute breaks between six classes but it was still a lot to take in at a time. I looked to my left to find Kageyama packing up excitedly. I frowned.

“Why are you so excited? Do you hate school that much” I muttered, “I get why you would hate school, cuz like I’m not a big fan myself, but why?”

He doesn’t turn his head in response, instead choosing to talk while still packing up. 

“I got volleyball class today” his eyes glimmer in the afternoon sun as he talks, “volleyball is like the greatest thing ever. It’s not because I hate school, although it’s not the easiest thing nor the most fun”. His voice trails off sheepishly at the end of the sentence which I can’t help but giggle at. He seems slightly offended at my response as he scows for like the hundredth time a day. I’ve never met someone who uses scowling as a form of expression as much as Kageyama. It’s like it’s his natural response to everything in the world.

I scoff. Of course, the first person I meet in this school is also a volleyball weirdo. Although I fully support Oikawa and Iwaizumi as volleyball maniacs, I will never be able to match the enthusiasm. Volleyball seems like a strangely good match to the unusually quiet Kageyama though, I can just see the concentration that he would hold during a game of volleyball. Oikawa and Iwaizumi would drag me to watch matches with them. I fully understood the game because they both repeated the rules and concept of the game over and over again until my head almost exploded. I gotta say, it’s pretty cool. Especially when all the players function like a full oiled machine, the ball quickly flying from player to player and smashing onto the opponents floor. The jump serves were also really cool to watch. The ball would move from slowly falling in the air to making a mad arc over to the opponents floor to sometimes result in a service ace. Oikawa had attempted it once only to have the ball fall on his head, it was pretty comical.

“Are you also playing setter position” 

He pauses. He tilts his head to the left. Then he grins.

“Yea, the setter touches the ball the most. I would like to play the setter position,” he says calmly, a glint flashing past his eyes. I shiver, now that is a person who is determined. I have a feeling that instead of wanting to play the setter position, he thirsts for it, completely enamored by the position. This kid might not be as soft and fluffy as he looks. 

He finishes packing up and puts on his blue backpack. He glances at me for a moment then spares me a wave before walking out of the classroom. I wave back and look out the window. The green trees are gently swaying in the passing breeze and I can see people walking outside of the school building. _What a day._

After I manage to pack up, I hear two distinct voices from the hallway. Of course, it’s the porcupine and over clingy fluffball. I put on my backpack and glanced at the door. Right on time, Iwaizumi’s figure appears from outside and he beckons me over with a hand. I smile, it feels like this day has dragged on forever. Everyone needs a little Iwaizumi to rest their minds. I walk towards the door and give Iwaizumi a side hug which he returns. 

“Where’s Tooru?” I ask, looking around Iwaizumi’s frame to scan the rest of the hallway. There are less students out here then when the bell initially rang, but there are still some students littered about. Some of them are cleaning the hallways and some of them are talking with their friends before leaving for the day. Students here clean the schools unlike in America which I don’t really mind because we should clean the area that we use. 

“He’s over there, charming all of his fangirls, as usual” 

I look over my shoulder to find Oikawa surrounded by like nine, no ten girls. They are all of differing age but all of them are shorter than Oikawa. I narrow my eyes, there’s that fake smile again that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. I scowl, how do these girls don't realize that the smile is fake? This is the second time I’m experiencing this side of Oikawa that I’m not used to and I can’t say that I’m quite fond of it either. Although at the same time, I can’t really blame these girls. Oikawa was a level ahead of other boys his age with the constant volleyball training, his frame looked strong despite being less large than Iwaizumi. He did not look frail anymore, outgrowing his old body when I first met him. His hair was styled impeccably in a messy style that made his face look more charming. He was handsome, I’ll admit. Also, girls my age tend to want a prince charming, which he perfectly fits the image for.

“Where’s your fangirls? I think you're pretty handsome yourself” I teased the porcupine hair boy next to me. He scowls, pushing me slightly causing me to nudge him back. He raises one eyebrow and raises his hand in preparation to ruffle my hair before a girl's voice rang out.

“Excuse me! Iwaizumi-san”

I look behind Iwaizumi again to find an older girl with a bob cut holding her head down. She also had glasses and was about five cm taller than I was. I curiously glance at Iwaizumi’s face but he was just as confused as I was.

“Would you walk home with me?” she finally manages to squeeze out. She seems to wince at the last word and closes her eyes tight with expectation. Grinning, I rotate my face to Iwaizumi and nudge him excitedly. I nudge him while wagging my eyebrow at him. He scowls. _Wow he might be able to win Kageyama in a scowling contest._

“Sorry, I already have someone to walk home” he mumbles while ruffling my hair wildly. 

I squeak, this was no ordinary one-second ruffle. This was a full force ten-second ruffle. I can feel my hairstyle coming apart to wild strands of hair sticking out of my head randomly. I just tug off the hairbands and put them on my wrist. I shake my head a couple of times and run my fingers through my hair to make sure that I look presentable before looking up towards Iwaizumi. I pout to which he smirks. He starts poking his finger against my cheek which makes me snap at his fingers with my teeth. He just smiles with the message of **I won** written all over his face. I roll my eyes, I’ll deal with this later. I turn my head forward again to where the girl still stands. She looks conflicted and opens her mouth to speak. Her eyebrows are knit in frustration but after no words come out, she just bows and leaves. But, not before glancing at me one more time.

Iwaizumi just shrugs at me before dragging me by my arm past Oikawa to the school entrance. Oikawa catches sight of us and starts yelling at us to wait up. It has the opposite effect, Iwaizumi and I glance at each other before walking faster to which I hear Oikawa yelp. I can hear him telling his fangirls he’s sorry and that he needs to go. It’s not long before Oikawa catches up to us and slings an arm around my shoulders whining about how he got left behind. I try to bite his hand that’s hanging off my shoulder but he just moves his hand to place on top of my head. What is it with my hair and my friends that they love about it? My hair gets ruffled like ten times a day by Iwaizumi and Oikawa loves to stroke my head. 

We head out of school underneath the sun’s rays. Oikawa’s hand moves from the top of my head to the front of my head, shading my eyes from the sun. I just mumble a thank you before accepting the treatment. I can feel that it satisfies Oikawa because he just settles to happily hum instead of talking to Iwaizumi like he usually does. 

*****************************************************************************************

It’s hot. We’re not even halfway home before we all start sweating bullets. The hot afternoon sun bearing down on use with no mercy. Even the stoic Iwaizumi has an expression of disgust as he walks and that is when you know that the heat is real. He kinda looks constipated, not gonna lie. Oikawa is too annoyed by the heat to even tease us, another sign that the temperature is way too high. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a familymart. Anything to get us out of this heat, even just momentarily. I grab Iwaizumi and Oikawa's wrists before pulling them with me towards the mart. Oikawa makes a noise of confusion before spotting the mart, as the noise disappears as soon as it appears. We reach the automatic doors that roll open.

Oh my god. **Cold Air**. My love.

As we step into the mart, the employee standing at the register greets us. The store has white shelving with various products on it. The employee is to the left of us, with around six shelving rows in front of us. To the right of us are refrigerators full of cold drinks that are calling to us. Iwaizumi exhales a long breath from the relief of the cold air. Oikawa just heads towards the refrigerators and grabs three drinks: A pink one, one green one, and one white one. He heads straight up to the register to pay and I make a noise of complaint. Mom said to not let other people pay for me. Oikawa just shoots a smile at me as to say that it’s ok and I shut my mouth. Iwaizumi pats my head to which I shake off because his hands are hot and my hair is sweaty which is gross. 

“Stop, I’m gross and sweaty Haji.” I grumble.

He chuckles, “You're always gross”.

This dang porcupine. Where did the innocent and nice spiky-haired kid. I want him back.

I step on his foot to which he winces. He then opts to restrain my arms by crossing them and holding them together with one hand. Iwaizumi usually doesn’t use force with me but now I can feel that he really is two years older than me. He then uses his remaining hand to pinch my cheek roughly. I squeak. He jiggles the fat on my cheek to which I protest which sounds more like a garbled mess than actual Japanese. He just grins and alternates with pinching both sides. I struggle, but this kid has been exercising and it hasn’t been for nothing. First I had to walk through the hot sun and now I have to deal with this. With no energy left, I grow limp and he continues to attack my cheeks with both hands. I just let my hands hang there while his eyes are filled with amusement. God dang third graders.

“Don’t hog Mi-chan all to yourself” 

Oikawa finished purchasing the drinks and is now standing behind Iwaizumi with a relaxed smile on his face. Iwaizumi takes his hands off my cheeks and extends a hand to ask for his drink. 

“Nuh-uh Iwa-chan, what’s the magic word” Oikawa cheerfully chirps, swinging the bag in front of Iwaizumi’s face. 

“The magic words are give the drink to me before I beat you into the ground” Iwaizumi grows, a dark fire rising behind him. I rub my cheeks, a little sore to the touch. Even though it kind of hurts, I know that Iwaizumi still held back his strength on me. Still though, I’ll get him back for this attack. Oikawa gulps from the dark aura rising behind Iwaizumi. He quickly hands him the green drink, I can now see that it’s sprite. Iwaizumi quickly unscrews the cap to gulp down the drink. Even though it’s a carbonated drink, he manages to drink it with ease. What is this kid? I grumble, still rubbing my cheeks gingerly. Suddenly I feel cool plastic next to my cheek. While I was glaring at Iwaizumi, Oikawa had held out the pink drink next to my cheek. I take it from him, his eyes gleaming. 

“It’s good, try it!” he laughs, “If you don’t like it, I’ll finish it for you so don’t worry Mi-chan. And don’t even try to pay me back, it’s from me so it’s ok”.

I open my mouth to protest but Oikawa gives me a look that says I’m not going to win this argument. I turn my head to look at the packaging and it looks pretty enticing. The biggest positive factor is that I’m hot and this drink is cold so I unscrew the white cap to drink it. The first sip I take is like heaven. It’s sweet yet not too sweet with a subtle hint of strawberry. I assume that that’s what the images of strawberries mean on the packaging as I go back for more. I gulp down about half before glancing at Oikawa. Instead of gulping down a cold drink like a maniac, he instead chooses to sip quietly while staring at me, waiting for my reaction.

“It’s so good,” I sheepishly declared. Immediately, his face burst into a big smile. This makes me blush because of how good he looked with a smile even with sweaty bangs. God is unfair, Oikawa is a prime example. Iwaizumi is still distracted by the drink so Oikawa chooses to stalk closer to me. I immediately choose to hide behind Iwaizumi, I am too vulnerable to attacks by Oikawa right now. I can’t see Iwaizumi’s facial expression when I peek from behind him but Oikawa is chuckling and winks at me. This time I just roll my eyes at him and give him a small smile. After Iwaizumi manages to empty the bottle in like two minutes, I don’t even know how he achieved that. We walk out of the store and into the hot sun again. However, this time it doesn’t feel as hot and with this strawberry drink in my hand, I can bear the heat. Oikawa is in a surprisingly good mood again and this time the whole way home, there’s bickering from the two of them. They drop me off in front of my house and wave goodbye accompanied by yet another wink by Oikawa before leaving. I huff, today was a tiring day. I am looking forward to my bed and food. 

******************************************************************************************

The next five days of school go by quickly. Unlike America, they have half days of school in Japan on Saturday that I do not appreciate at all. On Tuesday, Kageyama and I bond over volleyball during lunch. I can see that Kageyama is able to ease out of his shell as soon as volleyball is mentioned, that’s how much he loves the sport. I noticed that he has a habit of frowning when he’s confused. Does this kid only know how to frown and scowl as a natural facial expression? And the really unfair thing is when he does all these facial expressions he still looks like an adorable baby bear. On Wednesday, Kageyama and I talked about our siblings and family life. I found out that he has an older sister and he found out I had an older brother who surprise surprise, also played volleyball. I ended up talking about my brother more because he kept asking about him. What is it about Jong that all my friends just naturally love? Jeez. On Thursday, Kageyama managed to spill his tray to which he looked really upset about even though the teacher gave him a new one. I gave him a piece of candy because whenever I’m sad sweets make me feel better. He grumbled at first and said he didn’t want it, but he eventually ate it. It seemed to have worked because he even smiled while saying goodbye to me after the last bell. On Friday, Kageyama complained to me about this one girl that kept following him even to the restroom. I had laughed out loud to which he had glared at me before crossing his arms. Apparently this girl was in a different class and was the girl that would peek into our classroom sometimes during break. I had wondered why there was a girl that would come to the door so much but now I knew why. I just wished Kageyama good luck before changing the subject. On Saturday, Oikawa, and Iwaizumi visit my classroom again. The teacher already knew them from the countless times that they’ve come throughout the week that she just sighed during lunch and said nothing before allowing them in. They always come at the end of lunch and sometimes during breaks just to “see if I’m doing alright”. But if I’m being honest, they mess with me more than they check up on me. 

After School on Saturday, Oikawa drags me over to his house to play video games. He’s been boasting about how good he is at the game while walking home so I’ve been determined to beat him. 

“Tooru, Stop shooting me or I’ll rip your intestines out”

“That’s if you can reach me shorty.” He chimes. He’s behind me in third place while Iwaizumi is smoothly driving way ahead of us in first place. Oikawa is currently trying to aim green shells at me while I try to dodge them like a madman.

“Tooru, stop being mean” I scream, “Don’t you dare! Don’t you- oh no no noOO!”.

He manages to strike me, zooming by with ease. I can see out of the corner of my eye that he’s cackling like a maniac and is very happy to have downed me. This sets my blood on fire and the next time I get an item, it’s conveniently a red shell. Now that I’m comfortably snug in third, I can strike Oikawa in 2nd. I grin evilly.

“Tooru, guess what I have” I cackle, “your death is what.”

“Mi-chan, you love me, right? I bought you drinks and I’ll give you my autograph for free if you just don’t hit me” he nervously yells.

“There is no love in Mario Kart” I state coldly, “And no one wants your stupid autograph, you ego-filled ladykiller.”

“Who even taught you that word!” he screeches as I release the red shell. There is an icon moving on the screen as an indication of where the shell is. I hit him in mere seconds and luckily just before the finish line. I zoom past him, taking second place smoothly while Iwaizumi is dying with laughter in the background.

“NO!” Oikawa whines, “I was so close!”.

“There was no mercy when you hit me, you idiot!” I growl at him back. Oikawa grins and gets me into a headlock.

“Who said you could talk back huh? First graders these days are getting too rowdy! Haven’t you learned to respect your elders?” He speaks next to my ears. He also ruffles my hair while maintaining the headlock.

“I respect elders like Iwaizumi, not childish ones like you” I squeak, “You're mentally my age!”

“You take that back!”

“NO”

Mi-chan where did the innocent girl go?”

“Up your-”

“MITOCHI” Iwaizumi roars, “who is teaching you all these things”.

I giggle. Days are never boring with these two. Although I’ve only known them for a year, I feel like I can trust these two with my life. I could live like this forever.

  
  



	5. Demise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All I've ever felt is warmth from family and friends. Strong as the campfire wind, resilient as the wind blows, trying to extinguish the fire. What I didn't know was that there wouldn't be just wind. There would be an incessant downpour, making the campfire go out in one go. The flames dying down with a defeated scream. And then, there was only smoke left. The dying embers offering little of the whole warmth that I had once experienced.

School is boring. There’s always something new to learn and something to memorize. Homework is easy but sitting in class for eight hours a day is not my idea of fun. In my opinion, even staring at the bird flitting outside the window would be a better use of time but the teacher always tells me to turn my head to the chalkboard. The only worthwhile moments in class were when Oikawa and Iwaizumi swung by to bother me and when Kageyama would get flustered by my teasing. Kageyama was a saving grace, he always caused me some kind of amusement even in the most boring lessons. I found out that he had a habit of twirling the pencil with his nimble fingers when he was deep in thought and he would frown deeply when he didn’t understand the questions. I would always spend the lunch period eating with him and in turn, we became close buddies. Other kids thought he was too scary and wouldn’t talk to him that much, but I say that he’s literally a baby bear with a cute scowling face. Another thing that I found out is that girls like the mysterious and scary kinds of guys. Even though the girls were scared of him, they would also blush and whisper to each other like crazy when they weren’t directly in his line of sight. 

On another topic that needs to be brought up, why are every one of my friends good looking? Iwaizumi has that type of rugged boyishness that attracts some girls. Out of all three of my friends he has the broadest shoulders and greatest strengths. Even though he has the least admirers, he still turns some heads and I’ve seen some third-year girls point at me in the hallway for no reason. Although, I presume it’s because I’m friends with both Iwaizumi and Oikawa. Oikawa has that prince image that even girls in grade five have an interest in. How do I know this? One time after school, a fifth-year girl came up to him and asked to walk home with him. He declined but bragged about it all the way home. Annoying, smug piece of trash. How do girls even like him? Oh right. He’s good looking. Really good looking. For his age, I haven’t met any other boy prettier than him. Oikawa has the perfect angular face with prominent features and large eyes. His eyelashes compliment his face and when he smiles, he becomes more charming. His eyes crease pleasantly and his pink lips form a perfect half-circle. God really does have favorites. Kageyama on the other hand has the dark mysterious type of aura to him. Constantly keeping to himself with the shaggy black hair. However, his face is also handsome, with sharp angles and prominent Asian features. Apparently his dark blue eyes also add on to his attractiveness. One time during gym, I joined a group of girls while playing catch that were gossiping about his blue eyes. Dear God, I feel like a sore thumb sticking out of all these attractive people. Although I’m not ugly, I’m also not the prettiest. There are many girls that I’ve seen that could put me to shame any day. 

For the next two months, school goes by like a routine. I walk to school with Oikawa and Iwaizumi in the morning and spend the school day with Kageyama. Oikawa and Iwaizumi pop in two or three times a day during break and lunch to tease me. Then I walk home with Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Sometimes we go to Oikawa’s house to do homework and sometimes we go to Iwaizumi’s house to do homework. My house is the least visited probably because it’s the farthest away. When we got to Oikawa's house, his mom always makes the best cookies and milk bread. I could eat two cookies and two pieces of milk bread. Every time I eat that much though Oikawa says I’m going to be fat which makes me swipe at him consistently. Even though he says that Oikawa can scarf down five cookies at once and two milk breads. He says he’s a growing boy so he won’t get fat, which is so annoying but true. Ever since I’ve started chowing down on Oikawa’s mom’s snacks the fat around my stomach grew. Boo. After we finish homework we end up passing a volleyball around outside until the sky turns orange with the oncoming sunset. Then they both walk me home. On the weekends, Oikawa and Iwaizumi have volleyball lessons for four hours and I have to spend the weekends alone until they get out of class. But by then, they’re too tired to do anything too physical, so we just lounge around at someone’s house playing video games. Sometimes Oikawa likes to put me in front of him so I sit between his legs while he plays video games. I tried protesting the first few times but he’s way stronger than me and just lays his body weight on me which causes me to grow tired the more I move. So now it’s become a routine for him to demand me to sit in front of him so he can use me as a headrest. Oikawa’s definitely the clingier of the two, always seeking physical contact. Even my older brother isn’t this keen on physical contact. His older admirers don’t mind me because I’m younger than them but the ones in my class are pretty jealous. One girl plainly glares at me whenever I’m in her line of sight which I don’t really care about because if they want to be close to them so much, then go talk to them. 

While volleyball was their passion, I found something to agree on with my parents. Violin really sprung up a warm heat of passion from me. Sure the excitement of bumping the ball back perfectly into an arc was nice, but the symphonic performances of the symphonies caught my attention too. At first, it was really hard. None of my notes sounded nice, and my intonation was terrible. However, my mother hired a strict teacher for me for which I had two lessons a week. Each lesson was an hour long and it mainly focused on building correct technique. The first time my violin teacher brought me my first Suzuki book, I wrinkled my nose in distaste. She had just laughed and said that I wouldn’t know distaste until I started playing Brandenburg with a string quartet in the future. I loved the ways my fingers would feel on the string and on a good day, I could actually sound decent. It’s only been a couple of months since I started playing though, so my teacher still said I had a long way to go. But, it doesn’t matter, as long as I’m able to play on the big stage with a symphony someday, I’ll strive for it.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi would practice overhead serves while I practiced scales. As a result, they grew stronger while my fingers grew gracefully, a big difference between their rough hands and my thin fingers. Oikawa liked to compare hand sizes at least once a week. He’d hum while pressing his large palms onto mine, although the difference wasn’t too big. Iwaizumi would choose to listen to me play the violin, never wincing when my fingers would slip and hit the wrong note. He’d smile his boyish grin when I’d finish the piece, clapping politely. Always telling me I did a great job and that it was coming along. Iwaizumi always said I was his favorite violinist but I know that he’s lying. He has absolutely no interest in classical music and probably didn’t know anyone else. But, Haji always gave the best encouragement. When I would shy away, he’d look me in the eyes and tell me that I could do it. And it worked every single time. I don’t know if it was the soft hushed calming tone that he spoke to me with or his eyes which held me softly in his sight, but I do know one thing for sure. Without Haji, I would’ve been crashing down in my life in Japan already.

Oikawa was equally important though. When I was sad, he’d always be the first one to notice. When I was angry, he’d be the one to calm me down. When I was craving something, he somehow always knew what I wanted to eat and solved that craving one way or another. My favorite was when I was craving pudding, and even when I didn’t tell him what I wanted, he bought it for me on the way home. That pudding tasted better than any pudding that I’ve tasted before even though it was only a 100 yen pudding. I told him that he was going to go broke one day just buying this many snacks for me weekly. Tooru had just grinned and patted me softly on the head, muttering that it was ok if it was me. Now, since it has been two months, I’ve become sort of immune to his touchy flirtiness. However, that line just made my heart squeal with joys. I couldn’t see myself but I knew that my face had flushed red. As attentive as they were to me, they were also very different. Iwaizumi was red. He preferred to use brute strength, always using the quickest method to figure things out. He was a little more blunt but he never meant any harm. He was like the cool winter wind that swept gently over you, biting sometimes but usually just curling around your skin. Oikawa was blue. He was crafty, and always used charm to get out of situations that he could. He preferred to stay low just to achieve better results at the end even though it took much longer. He was always smooth with his words, no cracked edges. If I didn’t know him, I might’ve just fallen for him outright. He was like the spring wind, warm and inviting. Usually flowing gently but sometimes picking up too strongly, sweeping the leaves of trees too harshly.

This was the life I had imagined for myself in Japan. Warm. Each day is never the same. I felt the love of my friends and family every day. No more bullying, blending in with my class nicely. I had a classmate who I was good friends with. One of these things would be shattered beyond repair. And the downwards spiral started on any normal day.

I was lounging on the couch on a rare break day. The leaves on the trees a stunning mix of auburn and yellow. The temperature wasn’t too hot nor too cold. A perfect fall temperature that allowed Oikawa and Iwaizumi and me to play outside with just a t-shirt and shorts. Although it did get cold if I got splashed with water. One time Oikawa accidentally splashed me with a garden hose and oh boy did it get cold quickly. With surprising strength, he had coddled me up into a piggyback ride and ran back to his house. I had never seen him look so worried and was confused about it until he told me that his mom told him kids would get sick if they were wet and the weather outside wasn’t hot. He dried me off with a towel and made me take a shower, changing into his clothes afterward. If there was a surprising discovery to me that day, it was that his hoodies were very comfortable. He made me keep it but I had almost thrown it back at him when he winked at me and said I could have it to remind me of him when I missed him. I literally see him every day so I scrunched up my face in disgust. It must’ve been so clear that I was disgusted because he gulped and said he took his words back.

Jong was lounging on the couch next to me watching tv. A match of volleyball was playing on the television, the announcer's voice ringing out into the air.

“Mitochi, I’m hungry” Jong grumbled. “I want apple pie. I want ice cream. I want churros. I want tonkatsu. I want ramen. I want curry. I want dumplings. I want wontons. I wan-”

“Is every living moment of yours spent thinking of food?” I grumbled back, “also no human being can eat that much in one sitting. Even if they could, it’s probably not healthy”.

“Will my favorite sister go and tell nanny that I want dumplings?” Jong cooed at me, blinking his eyes obnoxiously and batting his eyelashes comically at me. To be fair, it was pretty funny.

I stifled my laughter.

“Yes, your favorite sister and your ONLY sister will go and tell nanny.” I speak in an obnoxiously high pitched voice back, “Would you like some soy sauce with that? Or hot sauce?”.

“I would like both please!” Jong coos back. 

“Greedy” I grumble, sticking out my tongue at him. 

He just chooses to nod enthusiastically back at me, still blinking at a rapid pace. 

I get nanny’s attention when I find her in the laundry room folding clothes. She holds my hands back into the kitchen to start preparing food for Jong. I sit on one of the counter high chairs and rest my face on my hands. Jong comes to join me after a while and leans his head on my shoulder.

“Mitochi, would you like some too?” Nanny asks politely, speaking while facing the opposite way, putting the filling into the dumpling skin. 

I think for a few seconds. Should I eat? I already ate when I came home from school. But, Nanny's dumplings are simply delicious. The pork and chive filling is scrumptious, even Iwaizumi and Oikawa ask for it each time they come over. But, on the other hand, I’m also getting fatter and fatter. I grunt. Whatever food always wins.

“Yes, please” I chirp, “but just three for me because I already ate when I came back”.

We do have a chef that is hired to make food sometimes, but mother and nanny both also cook food well. They cook most of the time, but twice a month a chef comes to cook. Nanny finishes filling twelve dumplings and puts them into a boiling pot. She starts cleaning up the counter space while I stare off into god knows where. Dumplings don’t take a long time to cook which is good because my mouth is starting to salivate thinking of her delicious dumplings. If I had to choose between Nanny’s dumplings or Iwaizumi’s mom’s curry, I think I’d rather just cry. Those two dishes are way too good to be compared.

After ten minutes, the dumplings have cooked and have cooled a little bit. Nanny serves them in medium-sized plates and a small bowl for the sauce. I prefer only soy sauce for mine but Jong likes them a little spicy. My spiciness tolerance isn’t very good, but it’s growing. A couple of months ago I couldn’t even take the tiniest amount of spice, but now I can eat a little bit. Jong bites into one blissfully, smiling at the flavor. I also take a bit and-

**Oh. My. God.**

This is literally heaven.

I’ve had dumplings before but each time is always so delicious, I will never get tired of them. Each bite of these dumplings brings my tastebuds to sing with joy. Nanny watches us eat with satisfaction, a smile gracing her lips. I can tell that she's happy that she was able to provide us with this joy. Although Jong had much more dumplings than I had, he finished around the same time as me. This boy can really scarf down food. As expected of my awesome brother. I give him a thumbs up which he returns with a big smile, close mouth because he’s still chewing. He knows I hate seeing half-eaten food in someone else’s mouth. I almost puked one time Oikawa did that to me, he now knows to never do that to me. Iwaizumi had chortled so loudly his mom had smacked him for having bad table manners. Now I know where he got his brute attitude from. Like mother, like son.

We blissfully stare into space, in a food coma from the delicious food. My mind is still hazy from the dumplings that it’s totally unprepared when my father walks into the room. He’s smiling for once which is a red flag for me because these days he doesn’t usually smile. All he does is stare disapprovingly at me, minus the time I said I would take up the violin. He rubs Jong’s head with affection.

“Son, you're coming with me to my company today,” he says, “It is time for you to meet my business partners who have children of similar age to you”.

“I don’t really know” Jong mumbles, “What if I embarrass you?”.

“You would never” Father speaks approvingly, “You're my one and only son.”

“What about Mitochi?” Jong stares up at father, “They deserve to meet your daughter too”.

Father turns his gaze from me, and immediately there is no speck of affection. His gaze is cold, hard, void of any warmth I had experienced from him. Memories flow through my head. The first time I danced with him in the living room, mother recording it all. He had been playful, warm, and inviting. On the first day of kindergarten, he had sent me off with a smile on his face, along with a head pat. Breakfast at 5 am in the kitchen with the entire family. He had wiped whipped cream from his pancakes on my cheek and laughed when I did it back to him. Jong was chuckling the entire time, mother holding back laughter by smiling. Movie nights with popcorn. He would always tuck me in afterwards, with a kiss to my forehead. Whispered I love you and that I would see him the next morning. Then the downfall. No acknowledgment to my presence when I entered the dining room to eat dinner. Refusing to take me outside to play various sports. Never coming to my violin lessons, as he would to Jong’s practices and games. Not sending me off to my first day of Japanese school. No happy birthday from him for my sixth birthday, just a Nintendo switch as a gift that was picked out by his secretary. 

This wasn’t my father. 

This was a  **stranger** . 

Instead of my eyes filling with tears like before, I stared back coldly. My heart was crying on the inside because he looked like my father. But this man, this  **thing** was not the father I knew.

He stared at me for a second. The longest second in my life before giving the tiniest of nods.

Then he left, leaving a strange iciness in the kitchen.

*******************************************************************************************

We were currently on the way to his company. I was sitting on the plush leather chairs in the tesla. Jong was seated on my left with a middle seat in between us. Our driver was sitting in the driver's seat, quietly driving smoothly. Father must’ve gotten a new driver because I’ve never seen him before. He had smooth black hair that was a bit curly at the end. He wore a black cap with a black uniform that had white lining on it, a clear indication he worked for my father. He had sharp blue eyes and a thinner build. His eyes kinda reminded me of Kageyama but didn’t hold the same intensity Kageyama had.

The car was quiet. Eerily quiet. The atmosphere was also strange, a tense moment. It seemed as if anyone spoke, the tension would snap immediately. I trained my eyes outside the window on my right. The trees outside were a beautiful shade and the landscape was changing slightly, from country to slightly more urban. We had been in the car for about two hours at this point. My legs had started to complain but I ignored it. Jong had fallen asleep ten minutes into the car ride, a steady quiet snore ringing out into the air for the past two hours. 

Father had given us instruction to dress nicely and thus Nanny had me wear a white dress that went down to my knees with a black bow at the center of my chest. She paired it with black formal shoes with frilly white socks. My hair had been curled to perfection, tied into a ponytail with a matching black bow. Jong had been dressed in a black suit and tie with a white undershirt. Both of us looked combed to perfection and I know if Oikawa saw me dressed up like this, he would coo unnecessarily over me. Nanny had also given me gold jewelry because the company colors were black, white, and gold. I had my ears pierced when I was a baby, so I wore earrings that slightly dangled but were very light.

The car turned a corner and then pulled into the front of this huge glass building. My house itself was enormous, but this building could compete with my house. It had more floors than my house, layer upon layer of office building. Big white letters were placed upon the front of the building that read CFR, company for future reality. I knew that my father had increased the company by a lot, but I didn’t know it was to this scale. The car stopped directly in front of the front doors where people donning the black nd white uniform with gold in-ears were standing uniformly, facing each other. As soon as the driver opened my father’s door, they all bowed uniformly and a group of people rushed out of the building, ready to take orders from him. He seemed to say something to them before continuing on, two to three people sticking by his side and walking at the same brisk pace. Five or six of them stayed where they stood and turned to face my brother and me. The driver then opened my side of the door, offering his hand out to me to take. By this time, Jong had already woken up and rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes, although he still moved with a laziness that would take time to get rid of. I took the driver's hand and hopped out the car, staring curiously at my surroundings. As soon as Jong got out of the car, four of the workers immediately walked up to him and bowed slightly. The tallest one of them spoke, a guy with blonde hair and brown eyes.

“Young master Jong, please come with us. Your father has instructed us to prepare you for the meeting with business partners.” 

Jong started quizzically back but nodded slightly to them before gesturing for him to take the lead. However, he hesitated and glanced at me worriedly before the tall guy spoke again.

“Do not worry, your father has instructed some people to take care of her and she will be at the same meeting as you later. Let us not be late and hurry.” 

Jong stared at him defiantly for a while and let out a breath of relief before nodding again. Then the group moved to enter the building, leaving me standing with a bunch of employees still bowing. I cleared my throat awkwardly before two employees walked up to me. Luckily, they were smiling without fake intentions which led me to relax a little bit. They were both females, both with dark black hair. The slightly taller one had cut it short and had warm brown eyes. The other one had long hair that was pulled back into a ponytail with green eyes. 

“Let’s go young miss” the taller one spoke, “We must not be late because this meeting is massively important.”.

The shorter one took my hand and slowly led me through the doors, walking at my pace. As soon as I entered the building, the modern furnishing really took my breath away. White marble tabletops and great lighting lit up the first floor of the building. Black sofas were laid out uniformly with plush white rugs accompanying them. The dying afternoon sun lit the entire floor with a warm glow, granting the floor with a warm atmosphere. Gold accents were strewn on the walls. They led me to an elevator that immediately opened and stepped inside. The shorter one pressed the floor 60 button which was about the middle of all the buttons. The doors started closing, trapping me inside the elevator. As the elevator started ascending, all I could think about was how much I missed Mr. Yolk and my two idiots.

***************************************************************************************

I’m on my way to the meeting with Kura and May. I learned that the shorter one's name was Kura and the taller one was May. They were very soft with me and went through the meeting protocol with me and how I was supposed to act. Basically I was to be introduced to my father's business partners and then sit beside Jong for the rest of the meeting. So as long as I didn’t mess up sitting silently, I would be fine.

We stopped walking down the long corridor in front of these huge double doors. Two employees bowed to us and opened the doors. The conference room was huge, brown oak desks formed a square at the center of the room with office chairs spread about a foot apart from each other. All of the chairs were filled except for one next to Jong. Employees occupied some of the space in the back, ready to fill the teacups that these CEOs were drinking out of. To the left of me occupied a woman with brown hair with olive eyes. Besides her sat a young boy, seemingly a couple of years older than me with his large build and short-cropped brown hair. I guessed that was her son because his features resembled her in many ways. He blinked curiously at me, donning a dark green suit that highlighted his olive eyes. He was the type of traditional Japanese handsome, strong build with strong features. Other people from their company donned the same colors but did not share the same features as they did, so I guess they were employees that were of higher position from that company. To the right of me was a man who had striking green hair with black glasses. He also had green eyes which narrowed slightly at me. I gulped before moving my gaze to the child sitting next to him. He was tall but skinny. They donned brown suits which strangely suited them, but in another situation where other people would wear them, it would look comical. The child’s gaze looked like he was scanning me like I was a piece of information. There were also people wearing the same colors in the seats next to them which I guess were also employees with high positions at their company. Letting out a soft sigh, I moved my gaze to Jong who sat in the desk farthest to me with my father sitting right beside him. He grinned and pointed at the seat next to him. I shot a sweet smile back which seemed to lessen the tension in the room a little bit before bowing.

“Good evening everyone, my name is Mitochi Zi, daughter of Song of the CFR company,” I speak slowly but smoothly. My tone is void of any nerves. I copy Oikawa’s charming tone and plaster a sweet smile onto my face. The other CEOs seem to approve of this because they either smile or nod at me in approval. Grinning, I move to walk to my seat before the seats that weren’t facing me turn around. A man who looked to be in his late 40s stares down at me with shocking red hair. But the real shock wasn’t from him, but rather from the boy next to him. His red-pink eyes stare me down like a wolf looking at its prey. He smiles lazily but dangerously. Something a child should not be able to do. Their company colors display themselves as white, all of the employees donning white suits with a black tie. It strangely fits this child with ease, his hair spiky but with a formal look to it as well. He opens his mouth slowly and lazily. His eyes glint in the florescent lights above.

“Nice to meet you”

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School is tiring. :(

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you enjoyed this!  
> Please forgive my grammar.


End file.
